Attempted child-luring reported outside East Van SkyTrain station: VPD
Posted March 26, 2024 4:20 pm.
Last Updated March 26, 2024 6:59 pm.
Vancouver police say a teen managed to get away after a stranger “tried to coax” him into performing sexual acts near a SkyTrain station in the city last week.
According to the VPD, the 13-year-old boy was approached by a stranger in the area of Duchess Street and Euclid Avenue, near the 29th Avenue Station, on Friday around 8 p.m.
“The man … started talking to him, basically making him feel unsafe, asking him where he was going, what he’s doing, where does he live. The boy kept walking, managed to kind of dodge the suspect but the suspect caught up to him and, this time, the suspect started asking him to perform sexual acts,” explained Const. Tania Visintin.
“At no point did the suspect try to touch the victim or anything, it was all verbal and trying to coax him into coming with him and to perform these sexual acts.”
The teen was able to get home and immediately told a family member what had happened, Visintin says, adding police were called right away.
“We began our investigation immediately on Friday,” she added.
Visintin says there were some investigative steps that needed to be taken before police were able to go public and ask for witnesses to come forward.
“We’re now appealing to the public, if anyone has information or even dashcam footage, if you were in the area by 29th Avenue SkyTrain station, in that area … we ask that they call our investigators,” she said.
“We need witnesses, we need video, we still have a lot of investigating to do. Right now we’re just appealing to the public.”
The VPD says the suspect is described as a man between 20 and 30 years old who is about 5’8″ tall with a skinny build.
He had short, dark hair and a moustache at the time of the incident, and was carrying a blue umbrella.
The VPD is asking anyone with information to contact police at 604-717-0600.
